Continuous caster molds for producing slabs commonly have walls formed of separate plates arranged in opposed pairs. Typically, the narrow wall plates are clamped between the broad walls of the mold and at least one of the narrow walls is movable so that the spacing between them may be adjusted. Usually, both the spacing and angular alignment of the narrow walls is adjustable for varying the width and controlling the shape of the slab being cast. The narrow walls tend to wear much faster than the broad walls primarily due to the tilted angular alignment of the narrow walls. It is desirable to be able to replace the narrow walls "on-line" without removing the mold from its support frame. This would eliminate excessive downtime for removal of the mold before the broad walls become worn to an extent requiring repair of the entire mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,863 shows one type of apparatus intended to permit "on-line" detachment of the narrow mold walls. At the lower end of the narrow mold wall a wedge-shaped nose is provided for engaging a mateable groove in the wall supporting plate. Lateral displacement of the wall with respect to the plate is prevented by lateral holding pieces located on opposite sides of the nose in the groove of the support plate. A wedge-shaped nose is also provided at the upper end of the narrow wall. A clamping piece having a tapered surface abutting the upper nose fits over a stud in the support plate. It is secured on the stud by a nut which causes the clamping piece to exert a downward force on the nose, pressing the mold wall tightly against the support plate. No provision is made at this upper connection to prevent lateral displacement of the mold wall. This can result in improper alignment of the narrow wall between the broad walls due to movement of the narrow wall after clamping or improper alignment initially. Such misalignment may damage the mold walls and require their early replacement and repair.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved quick disconnect attachment for continuous caster mold walls which prevents their misalignment in a lateral direction generally parallel to the inner face of the mold wall.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simpler quick disconnect attachment for continuous caster mold walls than any such prior known attachments.